Celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month 2023 with 19+ Pride social media ideas! In this guide, you’ll find helpful prompts and ideas to celebrate Pride Month on your company’s social media channels.
Pride Month is a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, affirm our identities, reflect on the inequities of the past and present, and take meaningful action to create change. In 2023, everyone deserves to bring their authentic self to work, regardless of their sexual orientation.
With these ideas, your remote team can learn, grow, and have fun together while celebrating Pride Month 2023 – virtually!
A few of our favorite Pride Month social media ideas:
Read on for more information on these Pride Month social media ideas, and more ideas!
- Pair your posts with meaningful action
- Plan a Pride-themed team building activity and share about it on social media
- Share Pride month quotes, reading recommendations, podcasts, and more
- Share LGBTQ+ voices on your social media
TLDR: in this list, you’ll find:
- Ideas for what to post on your company’s social media during Pride Month
- Ways to support the LGBTQ+ community during Pride 2023
- Quotes, history facts, and other sharable Pride Month content
- Internal processes to ensure your company is practicing equity and inclusivity all year
- Frequently asked questions about Pride Month
- A glossary of Pride Month words and terminology
Book Your Virtual Pride Month Team Building Event
Unexpected Virtual Tours’ Pride Month Virtual Team Building experience celebrates incredible LGBTQ+ people who have always been a part of America’s history. Be amazed by the story of America’s first gay marriage — from the year 1807! — as well as the bravery of a transgender Civil War soldier.
Discover America’s first gay neighborhood of Greenwich Village in New York City and see important sites associated with Harvey Milk in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco.
Plus, your team will love our live-streaming guide at the Stonewall National Monument, America’s first national monument associated with LGBTQ+ rights, and the location of the groundbreaking Stonewall Uprising.
Your team will also learn together and engage in friendly competition as you play Pride Month trivia. This experience is NOT a lecture, but an interactive session. It is a unique celebration of LGBTQ+ history.
Learn more and book your experience here.
Pride Month Social Media Ideas for Work
1. Pair Your Social Posts with Meaningful Action
Before we dive into Pride Month social media post ideas, it’s important to remember to pair your social posts with meaningful action. After all, actions speak louder than words. Moreover, studies show that consumers are paying attention to which companies are taking meaningful action to advocate for the LGBTQ community.
For example, a Harvard Business Review article notes, “LGBTQ inclusion is good for the economy, and as more and more businesses make this connection, they are stepping forward to make the economic case for non-discrimination protections and against discriminatory laws.”
Whether your company decides to donate to a worthy cause supporting the LGBTQ community, host a volunteer day, advocate for legislative change, or more – remember that social media posts are just one part of a meaningful Pride campaign!
2. Plan a Pride Month Team Experience & Share On Social Media!
If your team plans a fun activity to celebrate Pride Month, consider posting a recap on social media! You can share key takeaways, new information you found surprising, and how you plan to shift course moving forward, given any new information you may have learned.
To ensure everyone feels comfortable and to respect everyone’s privacy, you can make it clear to employees that sharing their feedback and quotes for social media is completely optional. Give people the opportunity to share anonymously, or to only have their first name used on social media, if they wish. Or, ask participants to sign a release form allowing their photo to be taken and used on social media ahead of time.
Our favorite Pride Month team building experience is our program, Pride is Protest. In this fun and inspiring virtual team building session, your crew will learn about the history of Pride Month from the early 1900s to the present day. Additionally, you’ll get to see iconic Pride Month locations in Greenwich Village (New York City) as well as the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco.
Limited dates available for June! Learn more and book your Pride Month virtual team building experience here.
3. Share Pride Month Quotes on Social Media
A powerful quote can educate, move, and inspire people. Social media posts with quotes are also highly “shareable,” especially if the audience resonates with your message.
This Pride Month, share quotes from LGBTQ+ activists, historians, celebrities, and more. Use your company’s brand colors and fonts to stylize the quotes so they reflect your organization’s personality. Additionally, this will help your posts look cohesive on your Instagram grid and other platforms.
To get started posting Pride Month quotes, check out our guide: 70+ Pride Month Quotes for 2023.
4. Be Respectful of People Who Aren’t “Out” or Don’t Want the Spotlight
When you think of Pride Month, you might think of enthusiastic celebrations where people outwardly display pride about their sexual orientation. And while that’s true, there are also many people who have not “come out” yet, who do not wish to share their orientation at work, or who are questioning their sexual identity. Additionally, some people don’t wish to be featured on their company’s social media even if they are proudly “out.”
For these reasons and more, it’s best to err on the side of respecting your employees’ privacy and discretion. Be sure that any opportunities for staff to be featured on social media during Pride Month are respectful as well as completely optional.
When employees do want to participate in Pride Month activities or share something related to their experience on your company’s social media, make sure these team members are compensated for their time and energy. It’s a great idea to also allow employees to see any post featuring their image or words before you post it, to prevent any miscommunications.
5. Share What You’re Watching, Reading, & Listening to This Pride Month
Explore Pride Month by watching, reading, and listening to works by LGBTQ filmmakers, authors, musicians, and more. Then, feature your favorites on social media! This is a great way to share engaging and helpful content with your audience.
Furthermore, you can make this post interactive by using Instagram story polls, making a TikTok with your recommendations, or just asking your audience a question in your post caption. For example: “What’s your favorite song by an LGBTQ artist?” Or: “What’s a queer-friendly book that you couldn’t put down?”
Content recommendations to share with your social media audience this Pride Month:
- Pride Month book recommendations by LGBTQ authors, or featuring LGBTQ characters
- Songs by LGBTQ artists and playlists featuring queer artists
- Your favorite magazines, e-zines, and poetry journals celebrating the LGBTQ community
- Safe-for-work Pride Month films and documentaries
- Podcasts discussing LGBTQ issues and topics
6. Share the History of Pride Month and LGBTQ+ History with Your Social Media Followers
Rather than using Pride Month to promote your business, consider using it as an opportunity to share knowledge with your followers, instead. In this way, your audiences will see that you genuinely care about the history and meaning behind Pride.
Some ways to share the history of Pride Month on social media:
- Post a video sharing the history of Pride Month, such as this 6-minute-long video from Buzzfeed: Why do We Have Gay Pride Month in the United States?
- Feature a noteworthy LGBTQ+ inventor, author, or scientist and share about their life and accomplishments.
- Share a fact about Pride Month that you found surprising. For example – did you know that the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage, Massachusetts, did not do so until 2004?
To learn more about the history of Pride Month, visit the Library of Congress webpage devoted to Pride Month.
7. Collaborate with LGBTQ Content Creators
These days, content creators are able to pivot quickly to make the most of ever-changing online trends, while promoting your brand to their followers and fans.
Consider hiring and collaborating with an LGBTQ content creator during Pride Month. There are a variety of ways to do this, depending on your business model – from providing affiliate links to sponsoring LGBTQ+ content creators.
Explore the world of LGBTQ influencers with this post: 27 Queer Content Creators of Color We Love. Before reaching out, check out this post: Partnering for Pride: What I Want Brands to Know Before Sponsoring LGBTQ+ Influencers and Bloggers.
8. Share Your Company’s DEI Goals or Strategic Plan
If your company has specific DEI initiatives that support LGBTQ+ employees or community members, Pride Month can be a great time to share these initiatives.
For example, maybe your company is sponsoring a nonprofit that supports initiatives for LGBTQ youth, and you want to shine a spotlight on the work of this organization. Or, maybe you’d like to share about your company’s supplier and vendor guidelines to promote diversity. Some companies may wish to share about benefits they offer their employees, such as transgender-inclusive health insurance coverage or adoption and surrogacy support.
Searching for ideas to support your company’s LGBTQ+ employees? Explore this article: 31 Companies with Impactful Initiatives to Support their LGBTQ Employees.
9. Use Pride Month Hashtags
To help your Pride Month social media posts reach interested audiences, be sure to use Pride Month hashtags. Social media users can search hashtags to find posts and ideas related to their interests.
Pride Month hashtags to boost your social media post visibility:
- #PrideMonth
- #Pride2023
- #lgbtq
- #loveislove
- #gaypride
- #lovewins
10. Take a Cue from Top Brands’ Pride Month Social Posts
While you always want your social media posts to feel authentic to your company, it can be helpful to take inspiration from other successful brands. For instance, we’re inspired by last year’s Pride posts from the brands below.
Adobe: Pride Month Social Media Post Example
Adobe worked with GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization, on their “Create Change” video series. The company also hosted Pride Month celebrations as well as a fundraiser supporting GLAAD and other causes.
LEGO: Pride Month Social Media Post Example
Creative company LEGO engaged their audiences with a fun LEGO-building Pride challenge.
REI: Pride Month Social Media Post Example
Outdoor gear store REI shared a nature-inspired post and podcast that was aligned with their audience’s adventurous interests. They collaborated with an LGBTQIA+ outdoors explorer to share his unique and inspiring story.
11. Diversify Your Social Feed
Pride Month is a great time to diversify your social media feed, in your personal life and for your company. Take a few minutes to scroll through your company’s “Following” list on your main social media platforms. Is your company’s account following thought leaders that represent different backgrounds and lived experiences?
If not, now is a great time to seek out LGBTQ+ creators in your industry and hit that “follow” button! You’ll broaden your company’s pool of re-sharable content and inspiration while hearing different points of view in your field. Additionally, this is a great year-round idea. Beyond Pride Month, be sure you’re seeking out content creators who represent diverse age groups, racial backgrounds, sizes, geographic areas, abilities and disabilities, and more.
To get started, check out Bustle’s list of 16+ LGBTQ Activists, Artists, & Storytellers to follow on social media.
12. Amplify LGBTQ+ Voices
Once you’ve diversified your social media feed (#11 above), you can begin amplifying LGBTQ+ voices to your audience. By re-sharing content from LGBTQ+ creators, you’re also helping to broaden the social feeds of your audiences while sharing important messages.
That said, remember to always ask for permission when sharing other people’s work or messages to your corporate audience. This best practice helps ensure that your company remains respectful of LGBTQ+ activists, artists, and public figures who devote time, energy, and resources to their social media content. You can also demonstrate your company’s allyship by making it clear that you will not tolerate any hateful speech in the comments section of your posts, and responding accordingly.
Explore GLAAD’s “Amplify Your Voice” resources – including information on how to be an ally online.
13. Create an Online Campaign for an LGBTQ+ Organization
In the spirit of pairing your social posts with meaningful action, create an online campaign for an LGBTQ+ organization! For example, honor Pride Month by publicly fundraising with your team on your socials. Or, create an in-kind donation campaign to collect needed items for a local organization.
Before starting your campaign, be sure to connect with the organization you wish to support and communicate that you will be sharing with your network. Furthermore, work with the organization to set your goals and learn facts from their team that you can share on your social media throughout the campaign.
A few LGBTQ+ Organizations to Consider Supporting:
- The Trevor Project: provides mental health crisis intervention services and community resources for LGBTQ+ youth.
- Human Rights Campaign: the Foundation offers a host of support services around the world for the LGBTQ+ community to support health, wellness, and inclusivity.
- The Point Foundation: with an aim to make college campuses more accessible and welcoming, this nonprofit offers college scholarships to LGBTQ+ high school seniors with financial needs.
- Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice: with multiple initiatives supporting LGBTQ+ communities around the world, this nonprofit funds LGBTQ+ artistic projects in film, theatre, photography, and so much more!
- Family Equality Council: supports LGBTQ+ parents and those who wish to become parents by providing informational services and advocating for legislation that protects LGBTQ+ parents
- To connect with local organizations in your city, research LGBTQ+ organizations near you!
Whether you are supporting a national or local organization, you can engage your network in supporting and raising awareness of an LGBTQ+ organization. Plus, your month-long campaign can open the door to creating a year-round philanthropic initiative with the organization you choose.
14. Explore & Share Online Exhibitions with LGBTQ+ VR Museum
Learn about incredible LGBTQ+ people and movements throughout history with interactive online exhibits from the LGBTQ+ VR Museum.
Engage your employees and network in experiencing the virtual museum, during which viewers can explore online exhibitions on a variety of topics related to LGBTQ+ history. For example, dive into works disrupting historical gatekeeping and combating the erasure of marginalized voices. Plus, enjoy 2D and 3D artworks exploring LGBTQ+ people’s lived experiences throughout history. With interactive layers of content, you can explore exhibits, artifacts, and stories.
Once you’ve experienced the museum, share what you learned on your social media! Engage your employees to share what stood out to them throughout the exhibits, new understandings they gained, or their favorite parts. By sharing your experience on your social media, you can bring awareness to the virtual museum and create meaningful social media content during Pride Month.
View the online exhibit and start planning your virtual tour.
15. Examine How LGBTQ+ People Are Underrepresented in Your Industry
While society has made progress toward advancing LGBTQ+ rights, there’s still a long way to go. That’s because LGTBQ+ people are not adequately represented in many industries, and are fearful of being open about their sexuality or gender identity in many companies.
To learn more, play an interactive quiz game with your team. Use a service like Kahoot to set up your interactive team quiz. Ask them to guess about the percentage of LGBTQ+ people who hold leadership roles in various industries or major companies.
Pride Month Facts That Might Surprise You:
- LGBTQ+ employees make up around 6% of the U.S. workforce
- LGBTQ+ representation across various roles in the workforce is low, particularly at senior executive levels in corporate companies.
- Up until 2020, LGBTQ+ employees could be fired on the basis of their sexual orientation. Now, sexual orientation and gender identity are protected under the Title VII of the Civil Rights act of 1964, which banned workplace discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion.
- The history of LGBTQ+ workers’ rights has denied LGBTQ+ individuals federal government jobs, benefits, insurance, protections, and equitable protections.
Take this opportunity to share with your network the realities of LGBTQ+ representation in your industry and what your company is doing to intentionally recruit and support LGBTQ+ employees. Additionally, use this opportunity to share your company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals for your workforce and learn from other leaders how to better your work environment for LGBTQ+ employees.
16. Make an LGBTQ+ Empowerment Playlist
Celebrate the power of the LGBTQ+ community with an empowering playlist! For this activity, ask everyone on your team to add their favorite song to honor Pride Month. Then, everyone can listen in during the month of June and all year round!
Consider adding the playlist to your company’s social media bio to share with your network. Or, pick a certain day of the week to highlight a song on the playlist for your followers. Additionally, you can quote employees on why they chose their song for highlights to share on your feed. Maybe even take a video of your team dancing to the songs in the office or during a virtual meeting!
Empowering Songs to Include on Your Pride Month Playlist:
- I’m Coming Out by Diana Ross
- Honey by Kehlani
- Good As Hell by Lizzo
- Montero (Call Me By Your Name) by Lil Nas X
- True Colors by Cyndi Lauper
- Vogue by Madonna
For more ideas, check out Seventeen Magazine’s The Ultimate 2023 LGBTQ+ Pride Playlist That’ll Make You Want To Party.
17. Hire a Performer or Activist to Speak to Your Team & Livestream the Event
Plan a memorable virtual event by inviting a performer or activist to speak to your team and network for Pride Month.
To find a speaker, utilize companies like All American Entertainment Speakers which provides a resource list of inspiring LGBTQ+ speakers and activists in various U.S. states. As a result, you can find the perfect guest located close to your corporate headquarters, or anywhere in the country.
This idea is a great way to get engage employees in Pride Month events and your social media network! With the permission of your speaker, livestream the event for your social media followers to enjoy alongside you.
Not only will this be a great way to get engagement on your social media account, but you will be allowing your followers to enjoy a Pride month activity themselves! Additionally, you can use the event as a way to fundraise for a nonprofit, asking each follower to donate a certain amount to attend the live stream.
Browse the All American Entertainment Speakers’ database of LGBTQ+ speakers.
18. Stream a Live Q&A with an LGBTQ+ Leadership Panel
Similar to number 17 above, engage your network with a live LGBTQ+ Leadership Panel.
Hearing from successful LGBTQ+ leaders can be inspiring and moving for employees and followers of all backgrounds. This June, give your LGBTQ+ executives and rising stars the opportunity to share about their career and life experience.
Arranging a video call panel discussion is a great way to amplify the voices of multiple LGBTQ+ company leaders during one session. Be sure to allow plenty of time for a Q&A for both in-person employees and your followers!
Some Questions to Ask Speakers During an LGBTQ+ Leadership Panel:
- Have you faced discrimination in your career, either due to being LGBTQ+ or something else? What was that like?
- How can we uplift and support LGBTQ+ people in our workforce?
- Do you think that LGBTQ+ people in your field face any unique or particular challenges? Can you tell us about them?
19. Let your company’s LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group Host a Social Media Takeover
Engage your company’s LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group (ERG) during Pride Month! Not only should their perspective be included in the planning of activities and posts, but consider letting the group host a social media takeover for the month.
A social media takeover can include employees from the ERG answering comments and direct messages on the company’s social media pages. Or, being company representatives in videos and livestreams.
Furthermore, as you host different events during the month be sure to actively include and listen to your LGBTQ+ employees. Plus, be intentional about not tokenizing your LGBTQ+ employees or stereotyping people in the process.
Pride Month is a great time to start an LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group if your company does not already have one. Check out Culture Amp’s Guide on How to start an employee resource group at your company to get you started!
Sharable Social Media Graphics to Amplify Your Message
Pride Month is a great time to post inspiring graphics that encourage followers to hit the “share” button. By doing this, you can amplify your message and further the fight for equality. By branding your graphics, you can also get your company’s name out there along with your message.
With a service like Canva, you can use your brand colors to create a quote graphic or a simple message. While you can make your message specific to your company, remember that “sharable” graphics tend to have broad appeal. Think about messages that will resonate with your followers and inspire them to action.
Alternatively, you can use our sharable graphics below! Just right-click and select “Save Image” – then, upload to your social media!
A great idea is to mix up your social media content for variety. This might look like posting sharable graphics along with an interactive Instagram poll or question. You can also give audiences a behind-the-scenes look at what your company is doing to celebrate Pride Month.
Above all, remember that social media is a tool for conversation and engagement as well as sales. Study after study shows that consistency and authenticity are important when it comes to growing an attentive social media audience. For that reason and others, it’s important to continue the conversation year-round. Remember, June shouldn’t be the only time your company posts about LGBTQ+ issues and diversity!
Powerful messages to spark inspiration:
- Love is love.
- [Company Name] celebrates our LGBTQ+ community this Pride Month.
- Being yourself is never wrong. Happy Pride Month!
- Allyship is a verb that requires action.
- Celebrate what makes us each unique.
- Trans women are women. / Trans men are men.
- Our team is stronger when we all bring our full, authentic selves to work.
Frequently Asked Questions about Pride Month
What is Pride Month?
Pride Month is a time for the LGBT community and allies to come together in celebration, solidarity, activism, reflection, and support of all LGBTQIA+ people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and agender).
While a Pride Parade or Pride March are often part of Pride celebrations, there’s more to this holiday than parades! Pride can be a meaningful time to learn about the historical and present struggles and exclusion of LGBT people.
When is Pride Month?
Pride Month is celebrated during the month of June. In 2023, Pride Month will be June 1-30, 2023.
Where is Pride Month celebrated?
Pride Month is primarily celebrated in the United States. However, you can find Pride Month festivities around the globe – even in areas where it is not an officially recognized occasion.
How did Pride begin?
Pride originated as a celebration of the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising (sometimes called the Stonewall Riots). In the early hours of June 28, 1969, police conducted a raid on a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City.
Unfortunately, during this time, being gay was a criminal offense. In fact, it was illegal to serve alcohol to a gay person until 1966. Raids on gay bars were standard procedure, but this raid would go down in history as the birth of the Pride movement.
Led by courageous transwomen, people at the Stonewall Inn protested the raid, leading to a six-day-long resistance. By just the second evening, thousands of protestors had gathered. Confrontation, violence, and escalation ensued for nearly a week. In the aftermath of Stonewall, many people became more engaged in activism and advocating for the equal treatment for LGBT people.
The first Pride march was held one year later, on June 28, 1970.
Learn more about the Stonewall Uprising from the Library of Congress.
Is Pride Month the same as LGBT History Month?
Pride Month and LGBT History Month are two separate and distinct events.
LGBT History Month specifically celebrates the achievements of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people as well as the history of gay rights and related movements. Pride Month is dedicated to celebrating community visibility and the ongoing movement toward equality.
The U.S., Canada, and Australia celebrate LGBT History Month in October to coincide with National Coming Out Day on October 11. The date is also a nod to the 1979 and 1987 October marches on Washington for LGBT rights.
A high school history teacher named Rodney Wilson created LGBT History Month in 1994. A year later, the General Assembly of the National Education Association passed a resolution that included designating October as LGBT History Month.
Will it be uncomfortable or inappropriate to discuss sexual orientations at work?
There’s a big difference between “talking about sex at work” and “talking about sexual orientation at work.” While the former certainly is uncomfortable and inappropriate, the latter is simply part of creating an inclusive workplace.
For many of us, our sexual orientation is integral to who we are. After all, there’s typically nothing scandalous about a heterosexual employee discussing their spouse or family, or an upcoming wedding. It’s important to ensure all employees feel comfortable bringing their whole, authentic selves to work. Inclusive activities like Pride Month virtual events can help ensure everyone feels welcome, included, and supported.
Pride Month Glossary
Language is ever-evolving – and that’s a good thing! Below, we’re sharing a brief glossary of a few commonly-used words related to Pride Month.
- LGBTQIA: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Questioning, Intersex, Asexual & Agender
- Queer: Once used an an insult, “queer” has been reclaimed as a descriptive adjective that many people use proudly. The dictionary definition of queer as “strange; odd” is becoming much less common and can be demeaning to people who identify their sexual orientation as “queer.”
- Cisgender: Sometimes referred to as “cis,” a cisgender person is someone who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth.
- Transgender / Trans: A transgender or trans person is someone whose gender identity does not align with the gender they were assigned at birth. Trans people may or may not take steps to transition. Learn more about transgender people with this FAQ post from the National Center for Transgender Equality.
Want to learn the meaning of additional Pride Month words and phrases? Check out a more complete glossary of Pride Month terminology, from Reading Pride Celebration.
We wish you and your team a safe, happy, and celebratory Pride filled with learning and fun. For an interactive Pride Month virtual experience, reserve your spot for our “Pride is Protest” virtual team building session!
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